As we move into chapter 26 today we will look at a word used a lot in the Bible. It has already come up in our journey through the Bible but now we have opportunity to take a look. שָׁמַע hear, listen, obey, understand, be heard. It is used 1,157 times in the Bible. What is key to this word is not just that you do what you are told but who you listen to that is important. Here is an example of listening and doing something that was just not a good idea. Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram שָׁמַע listened to the voice of Sarai. As we have already seen in this part of Genesis that this decision by Abram to obey this wrong advice ended very badly. Sarai thought she was solving a problem only to create more problems. This is what happens when we don’t wait patiently on God and listen to his voice instead of others. Another example of this very thing is found at the very beginning. Genesis 3:17-19 And to Adam he said, “Because you have שָׁמַעlistened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you.” Now that is a lot of bad consequences that happened because the choice Adam made to listen and obey the wrong voice. The Holy Spirit makes this connection in Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. So, all this evil hard consequence because one man obeyed the wrong voice. The good news is that there is a right and good voice for us to follow. God makes his voice clear and gives us simple direction that we can all follow. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 שָׁמַע Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
Obedience just sounds like no fun but that is simply not true. Obedience brings so many good things that God calls it a blessing. And not only are we blessed when we obey but look at how many people are positively affected by one person’s obedience. Genesis 26:4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham שָׁמַע obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. Did you catch that? All nations will be blessed because one person Abraham obeyed God. We understand this as people accepting God’s grace because of Jesus death on the cross when we do what Abraham did and put our faith in God or listen to him, obey him. The Holy Spirit makes this connection that we are children of Abraham when we put our faith in Christ. Galatians 3:7-9 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. It is encouraging to me that when just one person puts their faith in God through Christ so many good things can happen in that we can also become a blessing to many, many, many people that God uses us in our life in Christ. I think this is what Jesus meant when he said this in John. John 14:12-14 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
